Happy 15th Anniversary, ‘Glee’! Here Are 36 Songs They’d Cover If the Show Was On Now

It’s been 15 years since Ryan Murphy’s musical phenomenon Glee premiered to change so many lives — for the better and the worse. Once a Gleek, always a Gleek, and even for people who no longer revisit the show (or who didn’t even finish) the series still holds a special place in their hearts.

The Autostraddle editorial staff is filled with Gleeks of various degrees and we started talking about which songs in the years since Glee went off the air would be covered if Glee was on now. Well, we decided to share the results with other losers like us!


Solos

A close up of Quinn wearing a black strapless dress with her hair up

Quinn – “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus

Rachel Berry – “drivers license” by Olivia Rodrigo

Kurt – “Pink Pony Club” by Chappel Roan

Mercedes – “On My Mama” by Victoria Monét

Unique – “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from Encanto

Santana – “Curious” by Hayley Kiyoko

Marley – “Happier Than Ever” by Billie Eilish

April Rhodes – “Used to Be Young” by Miley Cyrus

Artie – “I Took a Pill in Ibiza” by Mike Posner

Santana – “Look What You Made Me Do” by Taylor Swift

Santana – “Love On the Brain” by Rihanna

Tina – “Kill Bill” by SZA

Mercedes – “Pick Up Your Feelings” by Jazmine Sullivan

Brittany – “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter

Rachel – “What Was I Made For” by Billie Eilish

Mercedes – “Formation” by Beyoncé

Santana – “Vampire” by Olivia Rodrigo

Rachel – “Tummy Hurts” by Reneé Rapp

Dani – “Emily I’m Sorry” by boygenius

Unique – “What It Is” by Doechii

Rachel – “Liability” by Lorde

Quinn – “Pretty Girl Era” by LU KALA

Duets

Santana and Brittany sing together in pop punk aesthetic

Santana and Brittany – “Pynk” by Janelle Monáe

Blaine and Unique – “Unholy” by Sam Smith and Kim Petras

Rachel and Finn – “Shallow” from A Star is Born (2018)

Santana and Mercedes – “Savage” by Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé

Kitty and Marley – “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift

Santana and Dani – “Silk Chiffon” by MUNA and Phoebe Bridgers

Group Numbers

The cast of Glee sing Loser Like Me

New Directions – “Stick Season” by Noah Kahan

The Troubletones – “Texas Hold ‘Em” by Beyoncé

Santana, Blaine, Mike, and Brittany – “Finesse” by Bruno Mars

All the girls – “New Rules” by Dua Lipa

Blaine, Quinn, and Rachel – “thank u next” by Ariana Grande

The Unholy Trinity – “Do It” by Chloe x Halle

The Troubletones – “Under the Table” by Fiona Apple

New Directions – “Unruly Heart” from The Prom (sorry but Ryan Murphy would’ve done Riverdale kids go see Love, Simon level cross-promotion when this movie dropped on Netflix)

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Drew Burnett Gregory

Drew is a Brooklyn-based writer, filmmaker, and theatremaker. She is a Senior Editor at Autostraddle with a focus in film and television, sex and dating, and politics. Her writing can also be found at Bright Wall/Dark Room, Cosmopolitan UK, Refinery29, Into, them, and Knock LA. She was a 2022 Outfest Screenwriting Lab Notable Writer and a 2023 Lambda Literary Screenwriting Fellow. She is currently working on a million film and TV projects mostly about queer trans women. Find her on Twitter and Instagram.

Drew Burnett has written 617 articles for us.

11 Comments

  1. I would dispute Rachel Berry singing “What Was I Made For”. I think that the song fits Quinn Fabray much better. Quinn is self assured as the head cheerleader, but what happens when she gets pregnant and starts to doubt everything in her life.

  2. I’m sure they would cover Orville Peck though not sure who would sing it..

    “Santana and Brittany – “Pynk” by Janelle Monáe

    Blaine and Unique – “Unholy” by Sam Smith and Kim Petras”

    OMG i would pay money to see that.

    • Unique is being bullied for being trans so Mr. Shue gives a speech about how trans people are special because they have so many parts within themselves and Unique proves this by singing all of the song.

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